Of Latin and/or Greek origin.
From the Latin word “stella”, meaning “star”.
The word was used for the first time as a given name by Sir Philip Sidney the English poet and scholar for his sonnets “Astrophel and Stella”.
It is also the name of Stanley Kowalski’s wife in Tennessee Williams’ renowned play “A Streetcar Named Desire”.
Stella is also of Greek origin when associated with the name Styliani (Στυλιανή).
From the masculine Greek name Stylianos (Στυλιανός). Derives from the Greek word stylos (στύλος), meaning “pillar”.
Other forms of the name are Stela, Estella, Estela, Stellina, Stelle, Estelle, Styliani.
The masculine form of the Greek name is Stelios.
Stella has been ranked in the Top-100 for many years. In 2016 it was ranked #20 in Sweden, #27 in Canada, #40 in Australia, #41 in New Zealand, #44 in Iceland, #45 in the U.S.A., #64 in Norway, #68 in Italy and Switzerland.
Famous bearers are Stella Adler, Stella McCartney, Stella Tennant, Stella Parton, Stella Mwangi, Stella Gonet, Stella Stevens, Stella Maeve.